Lenapes were among Island's first inhabitants

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Next year, Staten Island will be celebrating the 350th anniversary of the first permanent European settlement.

There were several other attempts but the one established in August, 1661, lasted. As we celebrate this event, I thought it would be only fitting to remember those who came before the Europeans — the Native American Lenapes.

When the Europeans came to the New World, they could not distinguish among the various people living in the area, so they gave all the natives living along the Delaware River the same name, Delaware Indians.

There were actually 30 Indian nations living between the Mississippi and the Atlantic Ocean, all speaking an Algonquin language and each nation had many tribes. One of these nations, the Lenape, lived in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-New York region. Three tribes of the Lenape nation lived on and near Staten Island — the Tappans, Hackensacks and Raritans.

They were known as fierce and tenacious warriors when they had to fight; however, they preferred to choose a path of peace with the Europeans and the other tribes. (The name Lenape (len-NAH-pay) means “common” or “ordinary people.”)

Actually, the Lenapes can trace their ancestors back to the first people to live in North America dating back to about 10,000 B.C. At that time, the Wisconsin glacier covered almost half the continent. Archeologists call these “first people” paleo indians and they lived on the West Shore of Staten Island and believe it or not, they hunted mastodons, giant caribou and other large animals for food and clothing.

As the glaciers receded and thousands of years passed, the climate moderated and deciduous trees like oak and maple began to grow in the region. The inhabitants adapted to their changing environment as well.

They used tulip trees to create “dug-out” canoes by burning the center of the tree and chopping out the charcoal, creating the shape needed.

These Archaic people moved about the area using various parts of the Island as seasonal camps. During the warmer months, they would collect shellfish and hunt small animals like white-tailed deer, rabbits, beavers and turkeys that were abundant in the area.

As time passed, they began to call themselves the Lenape and adopted the bow and arrow; clay bowls and created crude farming tools. Planting and harvesting their own food allowed them to stay in one area growing corns, beans and squash.

They still hunted wild game for food but the Lenapes did not waste any of the animals they killed. They used the fur for clothing; the skins for shelter and clothing; bones for tools; deer hooves for glue, and other parts, such as a snapping turtle shell, for toys.

The Lenapes saw their first “white man” around 1,500 A.D. when the colonists came to North America. First sighted by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524, the Island remained mostly populated by the Tappans, Hackensacks and Raritans until about 1630, when the Dutch attempted to establish settlements there.

Called Staaten Eylandt by the Dutch, they failed to maintain permanent settlements. The Lenape, feeling threatened, drove each attempt settlers made from the Island. Many of these conflicts were instigated by the Dutch; in all, blood was spilled on both sides in three wars, the Pig War (1641), the Whisky War (1642) and the Peach War (1655). The disputes were finally settled and, in 1661, the Dutch established a lasting colony called Oude Dorp, or Old Town, near South Beach.

The Lenapes began trading with the colonists and received metals such as iron, copper and brass that were used for tools and weapons. They also traded for shirts, kettles, knives, guns and other materials. Many of the early treaties and land sales they signed with the Europeans, were in their minds, more like leases.

The early Delaware had no idea that land was something that could be sold. The land belonged to the Creator, and the Lenape people believed they were only using it to shelter and feed their people.

As the poor, bedraggled settlers got off their ships after their long voyage and needed a place to live, the Lenape shared the land with them; however, in the mind of the Europeans, their gifts were actually the purchase price for the land.

As a result, the Indians sold the same land many times, leading to disputes over who owned the land; this along with conflicting land grants by European monarchs, further added to the confusion.

Finally, in 1833, a bi-state commission settled boundaries between New York and New Jersey, including which state had jurisdiction over Staten Island.

As the colonial settlements grew, many of the Lenape left Staten Island, moving westward, first to Ohio, then Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, and finally, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) while other tribes moved north to Ontario.

Let us not forget them as we celebrate our 350th Birthday next year.

BITS & PIECES

If you want to find out more about the Lenape, call Lenape Lifeways Inc. at 973-691-2316.